Tomorrow morning I have my spring recital performance. Since the beginning of the semester in January I have been mentally preparing for this date, and every day since then some portion of my practice has been devoted to the piece I’ll be performing, Tchaikovsky’s Chanson Triste.

I feel better prepared for this recital than any performance I’ve given. The piece is memorized; I can even play it through with my eyes closed. I’ve played it way too fast and way too slow. My wife will be accompanying me on an electric piano tomorrow, so we’ve been practicing at home, both with the acoustic piano and with an electric one. One evening we practiced immediately after I completed a 45-minute treadmill workout. I was sweaty and slightly out of breath, with an elevated heartbeat. Sort of like how I’ve felt at the start of every other performance I’ve given. I played it as well that night as I ever have, rich and full and with confidence.

In short, and not trying to jinx it, I think tomorrow’s performance is going to be superb.

In addition to preparing for the recital, my spring has been good cello-wise. I’m continuing to work my way through the G Major Bach suite. I have a good start on the Prelude, Minuet 1 & 2, and Gigue. I need to speed up the Gigue a bit, and I am still mastering the ending of the Prelude; otherwise the four pieces are coming along nicely.

In the last couple of weeks David has add the Sarabande and Courante to my plate. I started the Sarabande and have carefully worked through the first line. David requested that I begin by listening to it, and listen to it with a metronome set. Next I set the metronome to 80 for the eighth note, and read the piece visually — no cello in hand — to see how the rhythm lays out. He explained that the pace is deliberate enough that players often lose the pulse. This very measured approach is paying off as I can play the first line reasonably well after just a few practices.

The Courante has had less practice time. I hope to delve into it more over the next couple of weeks.

In about four weeks is my teacher’s annual cello camp. He has already sent out an email saying that we’ll be working on 4 études from the Schröder book, and so I’ve been working on those as well.

My personal goal for the summer is to work on speed. I need to be able to play faster. Toward that end I think working on vibrato will help. In order to create a good vibrato you have to let go of the cello neck (somewhat) and that requires relaxing. I still tend to grip the cello like someone is trying to steal it. And I want to complete my circuit around the circle of fifths, memorizing all the major scales so that I can play at least their two-octave version. So far I have C, G, D, A, E, B, and F memorized.

I am having as much, if not more fun, than ever with cello. I am learning new pieces faster and more completely, and I am far less frustrated with the gap between my mental understanding of technique and my physical ability to perform.

It’s going to be a good cello summer.

A fascinating three-part article on the chords used, and the chord progressions found in 1300 pieces of popular music.

After a two week hiatus due to spring break, I’m back to regular weekly lessons again. I’ve spent a lot of time on the Bach Minuets and Gigue from the G Major Suite, and on a pair of Schröder études. On my own I’ve been working with the metronome against scales and some finger speed exercises.

##Bach G Major Suite: Minuet 1 & 2, Gigue Most of my time has been spent on the b-section of the Gigue. I’ve been working the last two lines in particular to get the hooked bowing pattern down. I can now play the entire piece at a deliberate pace, and have started to add a little lilt to my bowing to give it a “jig” feel.

As a result of my lesson I know that I need to focus more on accurate shifts as I tend to overshoot a little. Shifting up I tend to be sharp after, and shifting down I tend to be flat. Toward this end David has assigned Schröder 64. (More on this below.)

I can play Minuets 1 and 2 all the way through, with repeats and the da capo. My tempo wanders a bit however, so I need to use a metronome to cement the pace.

##Schröder Études 33 and 64 David assign étude 64 since it is nothing but short shifts and extensions. Two things which are key to play any cello literature, and certainly key to the Bach pieces I’m developing. Rather than just attack the piece he wanted me to note all the fingerings, what position I was in, and whether or not an extension was required. The mental exercise of notating the piece has certainly helped my understanding of how and when my left hand should move. I am starting to see whole steps in terms of my fingers, and shifts in terms of where will my 1st finger be after the shift.

I didn’t put too much time into #33 and so we didn’t review it at the lesson.

##For Next Time At the end of my lesson David asked me if I’d started the Prélude from the G Major suite. I told him I hadn’t, and he promptly assigned it to me.

Three years and four months ago, when I stated lessons, I downloaded a copy of all six suites and actually tried my hand at playing the G Major Prélude. After a couple weeks of trying it I set it aside as I knew I wasn’t ready for it and I didn’t want to cement bad habits in that piece.

I am thrilled that I am now ready to learn and play this iconic piece. I have considered myself a cellist for some time, but to add this piece to my repertoire really makes me feel like a true cellist.

My lesson today was very good. Due to winter storms and scheduling conflicts this was my first lesson in three weeks. Fortunately I have plenty to work on these days.

##Bach Minuet 1, Minuet 2, Gigue (BWV 1007) Working these three pieces from the G Major Cello suite is a bit like juggling, or better still, keeping three plates spinning and balanced atop sticks. Time spent polishing one movement is time that the other two use to deteriorate.

Today we worked almost exclusively on the b-section of the Gigue. At my last lesson David instructed me to talk my way through this section of the piece. Before playing any part of it I say out loud the finger number and whether or not I need to shift. The attention to detail has helped get me through almost all of the b-section on my own. As always my biggest issue is intonation following shifts.

I played through both Minuets for David and it was obvious that they have suffered while I worked on the Gigue. Once I can play through the Gigue reliably, I’ll have more time to spread across all three pieces.

##Tchaikovsky Chanson Triste I’m now able to play this piece from memory. We finished my lesson by playing it together. Usually having an accompaniment throws me off, but today I was able to play the piece beautifully. David was very complimentary of my intonation and sound. He said it’s the best I’ve ever played.

##For next time My next lesson will be in two weeks as next week is spring break here. For that lesson I’ll continue to work on the Bach, and Schröder études 33 and 64. I also need to continue in the position pieces étude book.

• Velocity drills
  • did both the finger speed and trill drill tonight
  • noticing lots of tension in my left hand while performing the drill - need to work on relaxing
• Scales
  • C, G, D, A, E, F
  • need to start working on other scales
• Schröder #31
  • partial run through first 23 measures
  • just not in the mood for practicing tonight
• Suzuki Chanson Triste
  • played through about half the piece
  • lack of practice motivation
• Position Pieces March
  • played three times at 132
• Position Pieces Sleeping in the Shade
  • played entire piece without metronome
  • got lost several times with metronome at 80
• random playing of old Suzuki book one and two pieces

• Velocity drills
  • used metronome at 50 per 4-note group for 5 minutes
• Position piece March
  • played through 3 times at 132
• Position piece Sitting in the Shade
  • played through entire piece both individual bows and with slurs
  • set metronome to quarter = 80 and worked on first half
• Schröder #31
  • worked on first 23 measures (4 lines) at 50 in 6/8 time with 3 subdivisions for 10 minutes
• Bach Minuet 2
  • worked on A section for 10 minutes gradually increasing metronome speed to 100 per eighth note
  • added first half of B section for another few minutes also at 100 per eighth note
• Suzuki Chanson Triste
  • mini performance - played piece straight through without stopping for errors. B section is coming together nicely

• Velocity drills
  • spent 5 minutes on drill in 4th position
  • still no metronome but can play 2 patterns per bow smoothly
  • spent 5 minutes on trill drill
  • noticed lots of tension in left hand, fingers splayed rather than blocked
• Position piece March
  • played through several times at quarter/132
• Position piece Sitting in the Shade
  • played first half with individual bows and then with slurs
  • no metronome
• Schröder #31
  • reviewed MM 1 - 16 at 150
  • reset metronome for 50, 6/8 time, and 3 subdivisions
  • played MM 1 - 16 three times through
  • practiced MM 17 - 23 at 90, 112, 130, 150
  • reset metronome for 50, 6/8 time, and 3 subdivisions
  • played MM 1 - 23 three times through
• Chanson Triste
  • played entire piece once through with dynamics
  • worked on 4-note windows through B-section for 8 minutes
  • played entire piece once through again

• Velocity drills
  • Using the new Left Hand Finger Velocity video from Abigail McHugh-Grifa, I worked on finger velocity
  • without metronome learned basic fingering pattern
  • played pattern with individual bows, then two patterns per slur
  • next goal is 4 patterns per slur and adding a metronome
• Schröder #31
  • worked on MM 1 - 16 with metronome
  • started at 90 and increased speed to 156; one beat per eighth note
  • goal tomorrow is to switch metronome to 52 with 3 subdivisions to better replicate the 6/8 time of the piece
• Minuet 2
  • used metronome on A-section to learn correct rhythm
  • after many metronome-assisted repetitions, was able to play without metronome and maintain correct rhythm
  • goal for tomorrow is setting metronome for 3/4 time and playing 2 eighth notes per click
• Chanson Triste
  • played through entire piece three times focusing on dynamics

• March position étude
  • started with metronome at 80, gradually increased to 132
  • played piece 5 times at 132
  • played piece once without metronome at tempo
• Schröder #31
  • started with metronome at 100, gradually increased to 160
  • played first three lines at 160 - albeit raggedly at times
  • reset metronome to 53 (as piece is in 6/8 time) and played first line with one “beep” per three-note.
• Chanson Triste
  • played through B-section paying attention to shifts
  • worked on MM 33 - 40 using four-note moving window
• Minuet 2
  • played A-section with separate bows to hear rhythm several times
  • played B-section with separate bows to learn melody
  • focus on B-flats, extensions, and 1/2 position
  • spent several minutes on MM 21 - 23
• Minuet 1
  • not played this evening

My lesson this afternoon was good. We touched on all four books that I’m working in, and based on my assignment I’ve got some good goals in mind for the coming week.

##Position Pieces

• Pick a piece
• Learn the piece, paying attention to the shifts
• Increase tempo to the metronome marking
• Play piece five times in a row with metronome
• Play piece five times in a row at tempo without metronome
• Move on to the next piece

##Schröder #31

• Increase piece to Allegro moderato tempo
• Work a line at a time, only move on when current line can be played at tempo five times in a row

##Suzuki Chanson Triste

• Improve dynamics throughout piece
• Start with much softer piano
• Increase tempo ever so slightly from what I’ve been playing
• In B-section use a 4-note moving window to practice shifts from MM 33 - 40

##Bach Minuet 2

• Use metronome to correct rhythm errors in A-section
• Use separate bows to emphasize correct rhythm
• Focus on B-flats, both extended and shifted through out piece
• Play second half separate bows
• Pay attention to marked fingering in MM 21 - 23

##Bach Minuet 1

• Practice G-string/D-string double stop looking for even tone
• Practice G-string/A-string double stop looking fro even tone
• Add in C on A-string for G-string/middle-C double stop
• Use rolling window of one measure plus following note to work through B-section